24 Seasons [ Insects awaken ]
二四節気 啓蟄
Hello, everyone! I hope you are all well? The sunrise is getting much earlier these days here in Wales. Today I’d like to introduce some photos of Wenallt Wood, north of Cardiff, which we visited on New Year’s Day.
皆さま、お元気でいらっしゃいますか？ ウェールズは朝が明けるのが、とても早くなってきました。さて、今日は今年元日に訪れたカーディフ北部ウェナルトの森の写真をご紹介致します。
The Wenallt is famous for its beautiful bluebell and wild garlic season in spring, but whenever you visit, it’s always very quiet and atmospheric, perfect for a relaxing walk. It’s “Insects Awake“ on the 24 seasons’ calendar, when all small creatures under the ground start to limp out of the earth, which is getting warmer, little by little, in the early spring light. It’s been more than two months since and it’s exciting just to imagine how the insects are doing there right now. Possibly due to the warm winter, a lot of the tree trunks were covered with green moss which looked quite spectacular.
ウェナルトは春、ブルーベルの絨毯で埋め尽くされる森として有名なのですが、どの季節もとても静かで趣があり、散策するには本当に素晴らしいところです。この二十四節気は啓蟄。土の下で冬ごもりをしていた虫たちが、少しずつ春の光で温まった地中から這い出してくる時期との事。もう二ヶ月以上も前なので、この頃の虫たちはどんな活動を始めたのかしらと、想像するだけで楽しくなります。 今年はウェールズも暖冬であったせいか、多くの木々が苔むして幹全体が緑を帯びていたのが印象的でした。
The Japanese Tradition #2 [ Doll’s Day ]
日本の伝統 #2 [ 雛祭り ]
In Japan, we celebrate the Hina-matsuri or Doll’s Festival / Girl’s Festival on the 3rd of March each year. The dolls in the photo are ones my mother made. These traditional dolls are specifically called Edo Kimekomi Doll, they are made of wood and the fabric is applied over it and the edges tucked into the cuts of the base. It is said that the original dolls are related to the Kamigamo Shrine in Kyoto and were introduced to the people of Edo (Tokyo) in the 18th century. My family ran a kimono shop in Tokyo and I would watch my grandmother creating these dolls using kimono fabric / cloth.
三月三日は雛祭りでしたね。写真は母の作った木目込人形。京都上賀茂神社に所縁のある人形が18世紀、江戸に伝わり人気になったのだとか。呉服店を営んでいた実家では、小さい頃着物の仕立てをしていた祖母が端切れを使って、よくお人形を作っていたのを覚えています。
Due to the chaos caused by the coronavirus we needed to reschedule our holiday to Japan. I wish you are all safe and hope safe and sound days come back to everyone’s life very soon. Please do take good care of yourself.
Thank you very much for visiting my blog. Have a lovely day!
世界でコロナウィルス発生により大きな混乱が続いており、我々も楽しみにしていた日本訪問を延期する事になりましたが、一刻も早く安心して毎日を過ごせる日が戻ってくる事を心より祈っております。
今日もブログ訪問ありがとうございます。どうぞ皆さま素敵な1日を!
Helleborus niger